The soap 'General Hospital' began seeing patients 50 years ago in April, but it's the night-shift (aka prime-time) docs we remember most

The Heartthrobs

En español | As played by Patrick Dempsey (near left), Dr. Derek Shepherd — aka McDreamy — keeps Grey's Anatomy fans swooning. Back in the 1960s, Dr. Kildare's Richard Chamberlain could have been given the same nickname.

c. 1963, Everett Collection; 2010, ABC via Getty Images

The Good Guys

Doogie Howser, M.D. (Neil Patrick Harris) and Marcus Welby, M.D. (Robert Young) were decades apart in age and airdates for their eponymous shows, but the teen prodigy and the veteran physician shared a kind bedside manner and a passion for patient care.

1990, 20th Century Fox/Everett Collection; 1969, Alamy

The Curmudgeons

Bedside manners were hardly a priority for House's prickly Gregory House (Hugh Laurie). On Grey's Anatomy, the surly Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) is referred to as "the Nazi" by her interns and hospital colleagues.

The Neurotics

On the sitcom Frasier, psychiatrist Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) doled out advice he often needed to follow himself. Joel Fleischman (Rob Morrow) was a painfully displaced New Yorker working as a country doctor in the Alaska-based Northern Exposure.

c. 1998, Alamy; c. 1993, Universal, Everett Collection

The Strong Women

Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (Jane Seymour) took her practice to the Western frontier. On Grey's Anatomy, contemporary docs Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) and Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) doctor patients and their own personal lives in the halls of Seattle Grace.

c. 1995, Alamy; 2006, ABC via Getty Images

The Comedians

Laughter was the best medicine for The Cosby Show's Cliff Huxtable (Bill Cosby) and The Love Boat's Adam "Doc" Bricker (Bernie Kopell), both of whom seemed to spend more time practicing punch lines than medicine.

The Good Listeners

Therapy sessions were rather more dramatic for psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco) of The Sopranos than they were for comedian Bob Newhart's alter ego — psychologist Bob Hartley — on The Bob Newhart Show, but both docs worked with their share of curious characters.

2004, HBO/Everett Collection; c. 1976, Everett Collection

The Future Superstars

Once upon a time, Denzel Washington and Mark Harmon charmed viewers as St. Elsewhere doctors Philip Chandler and Robert Caldwell. Each would go on to become a People magazine Sexiest Man Alive (in 1996 and 1986, respectively) and acclaimed actor.